New project wins major cash backing from fund
LOCHABER Environmental Group (LEG) has been given a major cash boost to help residents reduce their carbon emissions.
The group has been given just under £100,000 from the Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge fund to run the Lochaber Waste and Energy Project to empower people to reduce waste, to re-use and recycle household items and to improve domestic energy efficiency.
Cara Mackay, Zero Waste officer, said: ‘Our new project will start in May when we will be encouraging residents to reduce their carbon footprints and repair and re-use things.’
As part of the project the group is launching a new initiative to encourage people to reduce food waste and recycle it through composting.
Cara explained: ‘ We will be giving people free caddies to collect and compost food waste.’
This is important as food waste going to landfill can be a major source of methane as it breaks down and can significantly impact the climate.
She added: ‘Methane traps 25 per cent more heat than carbon dioxide. If food waste is composted, there will be more air getting to it because there will be worms moving it around, meaning the food will break down to produce less methane than it would in landfill.’
As well as home owners, LEG will be working with local businesses and schools. In the meantime, the group has been running events as part of its zero waste project funded by Zero Waste Scotland and the European Regional Development Fund. It held cooking classes to encourage economical and environmentally friendly cooking and reduce food waste, sewing classes to help people repair and re-use textiles and a clothes swap.
From May, LEG will also be offering households and businesses the chance to take part in an energy survey to see how efficient they are and learn what more they could be doing.
Anyone interested in doing the survey should contact LEG by calling them on 01397 700090 or visiting www.lochaberenviro.org.uk.